Child of Beauty
by HaruHoney
Summary: Its been a year since Haruko left and Naota's having trouble with a new girl. Who is she anyway, and is Mamimi back in Mabase? Chap 2 is up now!
1. Default Chapter

Now, lemme get one thing clear. I do not own Fooly Cooly or anything.  
  
I hope you enjoy my story and please make lots of comments! This is my   
  
version of what happens after Haruko left. Enjoy! ^-^  
  
"Now, class, your projects need to be done next Thursday. I want you to include every detail about your family and your home. Please be creative too. You can start writing a couple things now, we have plently of time." The teacher said as she made sure Gaku and Masashi weren't talking again.  
  
What did he care? Of course he was going to skip this assignment. What could he say about his home? My dad writes profain 'zines and he's a pervert. My grandpa is obsessed with baseball and he used to do drugs. My mom died because of me. My brother is in America. The end. That was lovely...  
  
He took his mind off of that and stared out the window. The factory hadn't blew out smoke ever since Haruko left. Tasuku always said everything would be great in the seventh grade. It all sucked. He lied. He began to think what it would be like if she had stayed. Everything would be better. They would runaway from this awful place. They would've been so happy and free. He would have gave anything just to kiss her again.  
  
"Pssst! Naota!" Gaku whispered. Naota barely looked in his direction.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Look.." There was a slight snicker in his voice.Naota looked in the direction Gaku pointed out and saw the new girl staring at him. When he looked at her, she blushed and looked away.  
  
"I think she wants ya.." Masashi snickered.  
  
"You're always so lucky with the girls! Are you gonna ask her out? She's hot!"   
  
"Well, are you gonna do it?"  
  
"Shut up!" Naota said a little louder than he had expected. The teached looked at him sharply and opened her mouth, but Naota interrupted. "I'm excusing myself." He said as he stood up and grabbed his binder. Then he walked out and slammed the door. What great timing, the bell rang just as he walked out. The empty hall quickly flooded with students as Naota tried to dodge them all. He finally made it out of the school doors and leaned against the trunk of a tree.  
  
"I don't want to go home...I'll hang out by the bridge, maybe.." He said aloud to himself as he watched the people flood out of the building and get with their friends to walk home. Masashi grabbed Ninamorai's hand in the distance as they began to walk home. They were going out now, but Ninamorai didn't seem very happy. It was the talk of the school and Masashi had been loving the attention.  
  
When he looked away he found himself looking at two blue orbs. It was the new girl who had been staring at him.  
  
"Hi, my name is Michiko Iwakura. What's yours?" She smiled. He narrowed his eyes. He didn't want someone hanging around him all the time. That's how the new kids always did.  
  
"Naota." He said quietly.  
  
She blushed and then cleared her throat. "Honesty, right?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Y-Your name means 'honesty'. My name means 'child of beauty'." She smiled, obiviously satisfied with her name's meaning.  
  
"I guess..."  
  
"Um..Would you like to walk with me to my house? I-It's not that far."  
  
"Whatever.." He sighed. Great....  
  
They walked out of the school gates and down the sidewalk. Some of the kids going the same way began to stare at them.  
  
"So where do you live?" He asked her.  
  
"Oh, just a couple blocks from the bridge.." He felt his heart do a backflip. There had been a house close to his that had been for sale.  
  
"Do you live in a red, two-story house?" He asked, hoping that she lived far away from him.  
  
She looked a little surprised. "Yes, yes I do. It's right across from a small bakery."  
  
Naota couldn't surpress an 'ugh...'  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said, 'oh'. I live in that bakery..." He knew he shouldn't have said that, but she'd probably have found out anyway...  
  
Her eyes lit up. "Really?! Wow! I live right next to you then! How cool!" She said it so loud that the other kids began to whisper and point at Naota.   
  
"I guess we can see each other a lot, huh?" She said excitedly as Naota rubbed his forehead. This was gonna be a long school year...  
  
Naota! There's a little girl here to see you!" Naota's grandfather called. Naota groaned and opened his door. She wasn't kidding about studying for that math test...  
  
Before he could go downstairs a flash of something startled him.  
  
"Did you get a girlfriend, Nao??? Did you?? Why don't you introduce me to her?? I knew you would get one! Is she cute? Popular?? A cheerleader???" Kamon asked rapidly as he teasingly put out his pinky finger. (FYI: In Japan, to put out one's thumb means you're talking about someone's boyfriend. If you put out your pinky, you're talking about their girlfriend)  
  
"No, she's not my girlfriend. She's just a new kid.." Naota said as he moved past his father, but Kamon followed behind him anyway.  
  
He came to the doorway and found Michiko waiting patiently. When she saw him her cheeks lit up and she walked up to him. "Hi! Remember what I said about studying for the test?"  
  
"Yeah. Come on.." He stopped when his dad grinned in front of him.  
  
He sighed. "Michiko, this is my father, Kamon."  
  
"How do you do?" She said cheerfully as she shook his hand.  
  
"Fine. Are you new in Mabase?"  
  
"Yes. My family just moved here. Goodness, you look just like your son, Mr. Nandaba."  
  
Naota took that silently as a remark. Kamon just grinned.  
  
"Well, I'll leave you two alone." He started to go out of the room and then looked back at Naota with a pinky up.  
  
They went upstairs and Michiko couldn't believe her eyes.   
  
"Wow! Is that a Rickenbacker bass?? They're so uncommon! How did you get this?" She asked excitedly as she looked at the bass guitar leaned up against the wall.  
  
Naota was surprised she knew what kind it was. "You like guitars?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah! My dad plays the bass. I don't really play, but I love them anyway. I play the drums."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yep. It's a real nice set, but anyway, how did you get this?" She asked as she looked it over.  
  
He took a deep breath. "My girlfriend left it behind..."  
  
The room got quiet. "You have a girlfriend?" She asked quietly.  
  
"Used to.."  
  
"Oh.." She said it with a hint of relief. She turned her attention to Miyu-Miyu who was watching silently on Naota's desk chair. "What a cute cat!" She walked over and strained as she sat him in her lap. "He's very big.."  
  
"I know." Naota just sat down on the floor and wondered if he should've said Haruko had been his girlfriend. She wouldn't find out anyway..  
  
"Where's your mom? Is she cleaning or something?"  
  
Naota took another breath. "She's dead. She died when I was born. It's not a big deal.."  
  
"Oh my! I'm so sorry!"  
  
"Don't worry about it. That's her in that picture."  
  
Michiko looked on the desk and saw a picture of a handsome guy holding a pretty girl in his arms. "She looked a lot like you. Is that your dad with her?"  
  
"Yeah. He has another picture of them in his room by his bed. He hasn't been married since."  
  
"They must've really been in love.." She blushed as she said it.  
  
"I guess...What about studying?"  
  
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot! Here, I have my book."  
  
That night as Naota lay in bed, he thought of what Michiko had said. They must've really been in love...  
  
The words bothered him for some reason. Was it because he never really thought about his mother and father? He rolled over in bed and tried to go to sleep.  
  
"Takkun. You found me." Haruko said playfully as she yawned from sleeping in her bed of wires.  
  
"You're in the same place as last time." He smiled.  
  
Her body was concealed under the blankets of wires. He slipped in the wires and laid beside her.  
  
She kissed his forehead and smiled. "It is so beautiful. I don't ever want to land."  
  
"Neither do I. Please let me stay with you, Haruko."  
  
"I can only be with you for now. Eventually, you'll have to go back to the light."  
  
He snuggled close to her and looked into her yellow eyes that lit up the darkness around them.  
  
"Nao! Are you alive??" Kamon said as he shook his sleeping son on the shoulders.  
  
"Ugh..W-What???!! Stop! What do you want!?" Naota shouted as he finally woke up.  
  
Kamon sighed. "I thought that something might be wrong with you. At least you're awake now. I just wanted to talk t-"  
  
Naota had ignored all of his father's words and began to leave the room. He went downstairs and found his grandpa doing his usual morning stretches, and Miyu-Miyu sleeping on the kitchen chair. It was a typical Saturday morning, but it looked like it might rain.  
  
"Great.." Naota mumbled. He was already begginng to get bored. He walked out the door and stopped outside on the sidewalk. He thought of where he could go, but only boring places came to his mind. Suddenly an idea popped in his mind, but he imediatly shook it off. There was no way he was going to do that...right?  
  
"Please wait here, I'll go get her." Michiko's mother said as she turned away. Well...He did it. He wasn't sure if he should runaway now or what. It looked like he would just have to deal with her.Though, he did owe her for having to meet his family..  
  
"Oh my gosh! Naota! I was just about to come see you! Isn't that so cool??" Michiko bursted as she stood in the doorway.  
  
"Yep..." He wanted to looked away, but her little excited chibi eyes were cute.  
  
"Mom! I'm going out! See ya!" Michiko shouted and then closed her door. She looked at Naota and smiled.  
  
"What do you wanna do?"  
  
"I could show you around Mabase."  
  
"Oh that would be neat! Let's go!" She happily walked with him down the sidewalk. The skies rumbled above them, but nothing seemed to down her cheery mood. He showed her around all the best places and some of the worst.  
  
"What happened here?" She looked around at all the rubble and remains.  
  
"They haven't repaired this part of town..yet." He took a deep breath when he saw the familar spot where Haruko had said goodbye.  
  
"Goodness...Could we go somewhere else now? This place give me the creeps..Hey I know! Where's your favorite place to go?"  
  
"Well I have two places.."  
  
"That's even better! Show me them!" She grabbed his hand and he blushed as he began to walk in the direction of the beach. They got there, and once again she was easily amused. "This beach is beautiful! Look at all the shells!"  
  
Naota, however, was busy daydreaming. A long time ago when his brother had met Mamimi they used to come down to the beach. Then Mamimi had been told that she was banned from the beach. Tasuku was angry about the desicion so he told her that they could hang out by the bridge. Once they left the beach Naota took her to the bridge. He sat in the same spot on the grass while she looked around.  
  
"Its so beautiful here. You can see some of the city and everything." She turned back to him. "Is there a restaraunt or anything nearby? I'm hungry, I didn't eat anything for breakfast."  
  
Yeah, there's one down there, come on.." He got up as she followed behind him. They went to Cafe Bleu, the place where he had wanted Mamimi to go with him.  
  
Once they were inside Michiko ordered some drinks and then winked at Naota. "I brought my own money, so you don't have to pay for anything, okay?"  
  
He didn't say anything and sat down at a table. "I'll be right back, I have to use the restroom." She said as she began to walk away.  
  
Naota looked around and messed with his chopsticks until something caught his eye. He looked over slightly and saw the most beautiful girl, besides Haruko, sitting at the table next to him. Her hair was put up into a ponytail and her face was completely flawless. He couldn't help but stare. He wondered if she was a model or something, until something tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"Um..our drinks are ready.." Michiko's cheery voice seemed to lower a bit.  
  
He blushed and looked away from the girl. "Oh, uh okay."  
  
As they drank and Michiko talked, he kept stealing glances at the girl. After a while, Michiko was ready to go, but the girl was still there, so Naota made an invisible plan in his mind.  
  
They were walking back to her house and Michiko was talking about space or something he figured. He was to busy thinking of his plan.  
  
"So do you want to come see it?" She asked.  
  
"Space??!"  
  
"What? I was talking about my new puppy. Do you want to come in and see him?"  
  
"Oh..I can't I gotta get home, see you around." He waved to her and left her by her gate.  
  
"Bye! I hope we can meet again, Naota!"  
  
"Yeeeah..."  
  
He ran at top speed back to Cafe Bleu, which took almost all of his breath. He stopped at the doors to rest for a moment and then went inside.  
  
Yes! She was still sitting there drinking tea. He ordered tea and then sat down a table. He gathered his courage and then walked over to her table and sat down. She looked up and didn't say anything. Her brown eyes seemed to melt him.  
  
"Hi." Naota blushed. That was all that we could say??!!  
  
"She smiled, which also melted him.  
  
"You're the tenth guy to come over here." She giggled.  
  
"Oh...uh..."  
  
"Where did your little girlfriend go?" She asked. "I was watching you two. She seemed nice."  
  
"Um, she's not my girlfriend. Just a friend..." He blushed.  
  
"Oh. So how have you been?" She asked.  
  
"Um..fine.."  
  
"Me too. Do I look different now?"  
  
The girl was begginig to sound weird. He had no idea who she was and she was asking him all this stuff.  
  
"Um, do I know you by any chance?" He asked trying to find anything familiar in that sexy face.  
  
She started laughing. "I can't believe you don't remember me! Its me! Mamimi!" She giggled.  
  
Naota fell out of his seat, but imediatly got back up. "MAMIMI???? MAMIMI SAMEJIMA?????"  
  
"Yeah. You haven't changed, Naota."   
  
He looked down for a moment and then said, "Hey Mamimi?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Call me Takkun..." 


	2. Someone to Find

Here is Chapter 2! Please give me some reviews! ^-^  
  
It was a little past sunset as Naota walked home from Cafe Bleu. The sky was filled with gray clouds and the rain drizzled a bit. He had talked to Mamimi for some time. For some reason he seemed more attracted to her now. It wasn't her make-up or anything like that, but it was that she looked happy and he hadn't seen her smoke one ciggarette. He thought of her the whole time he walked there. When he opened the door Kamon rushed up to him in a blur, with a grin on his face.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Well what?"  
  
"Why were you so late? You weren't doing a little 'Furi Kuri' with someone...right?" Kamon grinned as he held up a pinky. Naota rolled his eyes and shoved past him into the living room where his grandfather, Shigekuni, was watching T.V. He looked up when Naota came in.  
  
"Did you get some, Nao?"  
  
"Grandpa! You too?! Sheesh!" Naota trudged up to his room, muttering angrily. He slammed his door shut and flopped down on his bed. Something was wrong this time, Naota could feel it. He started to get up, but then he was sitting on nothing. He fell through air, falling fast through blackness. His room was gone and all he could hear was himself screaming and strange whispers. Frightened, he looked around as he was falling for the source of the whispering, but there was no one and nothing.  
  
"Murderer. You murderer!"  
  
"Stupid child! Murderer!"  
  
"He killed her! Murderer!"  
  
"He'll kill all of them next! The little bastard! He's just waiting to snatch them!" He heard them hiss. Suddenly, he felt himself get very angry, like fire was rushing through his veins. He kicked around in the blackness shouting. "I'm not the same as you are! Leave me alone! I haven't killed anyone!" He screamed.  
  
"Stop."  
  
Everything went silent. Naota stopped falling and the whispering ceased. Naota looked around for the voice, but everything seemed to stop. He found himself hating it, hating everything because it was silent. Suddenly his eyes went wide. This was him. He was hating himself. His ever silent-self. The whispering was his thoughts, but who had stopped him? Who had stopped his mind?  
  
Naota sat up sharply in his bed. He was sweating all over and his heart was beating wildly. He looked around quickly and his eyes stopped on Kamon who looked surprised.  
  
"Nao, are you alright? I came in here because you were moaning and shouting something in your sleep." He leaned closer, putting his hand on Naota's forehead to feel its warmth. Kamon's craziness had disappeared, Naota realized.  
  
"I..I'm fine. Just a bad dream.." He said, taking a deep breath. He looked away. He never really talked to his father, so he wasn't used to attention.  
  
Kamon took his hand away and sat down next to Naota's bed. He stared down at the floor for a moment, and then he smiled.  
  
"Naota, do you remember when you were little and you used to stand by the stairs when I watched T.V. at night? You wanted to come sit next to me, but even then I don't think you wanted to show it. You would go back upstairs and then I would come upstairs and carry you to the couch and we would watch T.V. together until you fell asleep." Kamon chuckled and stared at the floor as though the floor was showing him his memories like a movie.  
  
Naota barely remembered that. He always thought he and his father had no connection, but obiviously Kamon thought otherwise. They sat in silence for a bit until Kamon saw the photo of him and Naota's mother on the desk.  
  
"You still have that old picture? Man, I didn't realize how long my hair was back then.." Kamon chuckled and looked back at Naota. "You like that picture?"  
  
"I can throw it away if you don't want it here." Naota snapped and then looked away. Kamon sighed and got up.   
  
"Just making sure you were okay..." He said softly.  
  
"That's new..." Naota said coldly and gave his dad a 'When are you gonna leave already?!' look. Kamon walked out and Naota laid back down in his bed. He glanced at the clock and figured it was late enough for bed so he turned over and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, he was in a field of flowers. Something inside him urged him to go forward so he ran where his body took him. He ran through the flowers, for once feeling happy. The sun beamed upon him as he came to a small clearing. A beautiful woman in a summer yukata was sitting there, waiting for him. Her eyes were as blue as the ocean and seemed to smile at him. He smiled and ran towards her as she opened her arms. He ran to her, but the minute he touched her soft hand, it bled. He stopped and looked at her, shocked. She grunted in pain and looked at him.  
  
"I...I..." He softly touched her face and watched in horror as she quickly melted into a pool of blood. He jumped back and watched as the field turned into a cracked, dry, wasteland. He looked at the blood as tears streamed down his face. Suddenly, the figure of a man burst through the blood. Covered in red, he walked up to Naota, who was frozen with fear, and placed a hand on his neck.   
  
Naota woke up abruptly and quickly felt his neck. There was a large, painful welt where the man had put his hand. Naota winced as he touched it with his fingers and then rubbed his forehead, which was throbbing painfully. He wiped the sweat off of his face and got out of his bed. He opened the door and quietly went downstairs, even though both his father and grandfather were still wide awake watching T.V. He ignored them as he walked by into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator door and poured some tea for himself. As he drank it, he could still make out the face of the woman he had seen in his dream. He shivered and almost dropped the glass. He sat it in the sink and walked out. As he walked through the living room, Kamon's fatherly senses went off finally. He turned on the floor to face Naota and smiled. On the T.V., Naota could hear the weatherman talking about a massive storm.  
  
"You want to stay up with us?" Kamon asked  
  
Naota stopped walking and frowned. "No."  
  
"But if you're having trouble sleeping you can atleast-"  
  
"No." Naota interrupted coldly and started to walk away, but Kamon stood up quickly and grabbed Naota's shoulder. Naota thought for a moment that he was actually going to scold him or something for the first time in his life. Kamon was always a nice guy, and Naota had very rarely seen him mad. Suddenly, Naota felt the sting of pain surge through his body. He stepped back a bit, for Kamon had been looking at the mark on his neck and had accidently touched it.  
  
"Nao, what in the hell is that?" Kamon asked, keeping a firm grip on Naota's shoulder. He voice sound shaky and worried, but Naota could still care less.  
  
"I don't know. I woke up with it." Naota said as he just shrugged, also as an attempt to remove Kamon's hand, but failed.  
  
"You woke up with it?" Kamon studied him closely.  
  
"Yeah..Maybe you got mad at me because of earlier and took your revenge.." Naota hissed.  
  
Kamon looked taken aback. "I would never hit you, Nao!" He said loudly. Naota shrugged harder this time, but Kamon held onto his shoulder tighter.  
  
"Naota, tell me what happened to your neck!" Kamon shouted, but his voice still seemed concerned, not angry. This time Naota threw his father's hand off of his shoulder and stepped away. Then he looked Kamon dead in the eye with such coldness that the room seemed to grow icy and silent.  
  
"I'm not the same as you are. So why even bother?" Then he turned slowly and began to walk up the stairs, living Kamon with his head down. Naota couldn't see his father's face, but he didn't care about that. At the moment he didn't care about anything, even the dream or the welt. He shut his door and got in bed and tried to go to sleep.  
  
"Naota...your friend is here to see you." Naota rubbed his eyes and looked up at Kamon at in his doorway. His eyes were red, but Naota didn't know if it was from crying or loss of sleep. He hopped out of bed and shoved past Kamon to go downstairs. He came to the front door, which was halfway open, and could see Michiko peering in with a smile that quickly turned to concern.  
  
"Naota! I'm so sorry! Were you sleeping? I seriously didn't mean to wake you!" She said quickly, but Naota waved his hand.  
  
"Its alright, don't worry. Hang on a sec, I'll go get some clothes on."  
  
"Bring a jacket, its raining."  
  
"Murugh........" He mumbled and left to go back upstairs. After he had thrown on some old clothes and a jacket he walked downstairs and found Kamon waiting at the bottom.  
  
"Nao, when you get back..I want to talk with you, kay?"  
  
Naota walked past him and went outside. Michiko was wearing a purple jacket and neck-length hair was in a small braid.  
  
"Wanna hang out again?" She smiled.  
  
"Yeah..sure.."  
  
"Great!" She seemed to smile bigger as she grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her. As they were walking down the sidewalk, the small drizzle of rain pecked against Naota's jacket. He stuffed his free hand into a pocket and looked up at the sky. The sun was covered somewhere in a blanket of black clouds that looked like they would burst with rain any moment. It reminded him of the dream he had of Haruko. Her beautiful bright eyes were hidden under all those wires like the sun was. He began to daydream about her until he got a small tug from Michiko.  
  
"What'cha thinkin'?" She asked sweetly, swinging his hand in her's.  
  
"Nothing...It sure is dark out here..."  
  
"Yeah, I wanted to see you because I'm really nervous..." Michiko said as she looked down.  
  
Naota stopped walking and so did she. "About what?"  
  
She nodded upwards. "See how black those clouds are? They said on the radio there might be some tornados..." She shivered, but Naota felt kinda relived.  
  
"Don't worry about it.." He said quietly as he began walking again.   
  
"But doesn't that make you worried? Tornados do so much damage!" Naota just shrugged and continued to walk along with her.  
  
About the time they had reached Cafe Bleu, the clouds were growing darker. He paid no attention as they went inside. It was really loud inside, obliviously everyone else was nervous about it like Michiko.  
  
"Takkun!" Mamimi said happily as she walked over to them. Michiko's eyes widened when she got a good look of Mamimi.  
  
Naota blushed. "Hey..Oh, uh, this is my friend Michiko." The minute he said it he released her hand. Michiko looked down for a moment and thne looked at Mamimi. "H-Hello. Nice to meet you.."   
  
Mamimi smiled. "Hi. Nice weather huh?" She laughed. Michiko looked at her strangely.  
  
A couple hours later as they sat at a table, Michiko held her head in her hands, bored. Naota and Mamimi had been talking the whole time and didn't really include her in. She glanced outside the windows and saw the wind was really getting fierce.  
  
"I know, that was so stupid." Naota laughed with Mamimi about something.  
  
"You know, I heard he got a job as a night club singer."  
  
"No way. I didn't know he could sing."  
  
"Same here. " She laughed. Just then, they heard the sharp, shrill sound of sirens. Everyone in the cafe looked up. Michiko grabbed onto Naota's arm. The rain outside was beating down on the ground as the wind blew the trees, making them bend this way and that. The sirens continued to belt out as someone turned on the T.V. The reporter on it was already telling everyone to find good shelter. The manager of the cafe stood up.  
  
"Please, everyone come down to our basement in an orderly fashion." Everyone stood up nervously except for Naota, who was still sitting, staring out the windows. Michiko tugged on his arm as most of the people were already in the basement.  
  
"Hurry, Naota! I'm really scared!"  
  
"Takkun, she's right, let's go." Mamimi also pleaded as she began to head for the basement doors.  
  
"Naota!" Michiko shouted as tears formed in her eyes. "Let's go! I'm so scared! Please! What the hell are you waiting for?!" At that moment he let go of her hand and stood up. She sighed in relief. "Come on, let's.....NAOTA!! NOOO!"   
  
Naota opened the cafe doors and ran outside. The wind almost knocked him down, but that electric shock ran through his body, pushing him, pushing him to go further. He fought the wind with each step and actually managed to keep a swift jog. The wind was howling in his ears like the shrill scream of a woman. It cut at him and made rocks fly into his face and eyes, but he couldn't stop. The rain soaked into him, beating down on him, like it was commrades with the wind in this battle. Even so, Naota tried as hard as he could to get there. He jogged down the empty road as the wind and rain ripped through Mabase. He stopped and tried to hold himself firmly on the ground when he came to the beach. The sand was rising into the wind and also wanted to test his strength. He squinted through the sand that stung his eyes out at the ocean. It resembled the actions of an insane man being put into a straight jacket. Roaring and struggling, and creating massive waves that slammed against the shore and soaked Naota's clothes.  
  
Naota actually felt himself sliding back a bit and he wondered if it really would come. Then suddenly everything almost became silent. The sand and rain let down a bit, letting the real power do the job. Over the horison, the howl of the wind soundly truly like that of a woman screaming murder. Like out of a horror movie, a huge funnel appeared across the horison. It spun like a massive gear, operating only the powers of hell. It ripped through everything. Nothing could withstand it as it came slowly straight for him. It was perfect. Naota grinned. "Just perfect.." He said.  
  
Like being smacked in the head, he was pulled so hard of the ground that he felt his heart stop for a moment. He was thrown around in the tornado as he squinted to see. Would this really work or had he been signing a contract for death without even realizing it? Suddenly, a rock that was also being tossed in the tornado smashed into him. He could actually hear the bones in his arm snap. He cried out in pain, realizing that he had been fooled until something grabbed him very hard again.  
  
Everything had stopped. His head rang with all the noises, but now they were just memories in his mind. It was all so quiet now. He was floating carefully in the eye of the tornado. He opened his eyes and saw only gray and black, but it seemed so beautiful. His heart slowed, he had been so close to death that it needed like an extra breath. He suddenly realized that whatever had grabbed was still gently holding on. His eyes darted to see it.  
  
Her body wrapped in wires. Her smile covered with a smiling pleasure. Her yellow eyes that tempted the demons to come out of the shadows.  
  
Haruko is here. 


	3. Mind Games

Heheehe. Liked Chapter 2? Well, here's chapter 3!  
  
Naota could barely keep his breathing right. There she was, right in front of him. He had been missing her for so long. Thinking of her for so long and finally she arrived.  
  
"Whoowho! What a day. My vespa gave me crap so I thought traveling in this convient little twister would help. How's my little Takkun?" She grinned. Naota threw his arms around her and held her close to him. "Haruko! I missed you so much!" He shouted happily. Finally he felt happy again, which he hadn't felt for quite a while. Haruko patted his head. "Missed you too, Takkun..." They sat there for a while in a silent bliss as Naota held her. Finally Haruko smiled at him.  
  
"Let's get out of here, kay?" He watched as her eyes went white for a minute and suddenly they were falling to the ground.   
  
"Ahhhhh! Damnit, Haruko! What do we do now?!"  
  
"Hehehehehe..........you screamed like a girl!" They sped downwards as Naota grabbed on to her waist. They were rescured by a familier yellow vespa. They landed softly and then Haruko patted the vespa. "Yay! Good vespa! Who's a good vespa? Yes you are! Yes you are!" Haruko began to act really weird as she snuggled with her vespa, but all Naota could do was laugh. She turned to him slowly. "Oooo. Someone's in a good mood..." He leaned back on the vespa and raised an eyebrow, grinning. "Yeah, you got a problem with it, woman?"  
  
"No punk."  
  
"Good. Thought I might haf ta get rought wit you."  
  
They both cracked up laughing and Naota's whole life seemed to get twenty times lighter. Haruko grasped onto the handles and looked back at Naota. "Hold on tight!" With that they shot off with a sonic boom and sped away down the highway. As Haruko made sharp turns and wheelies, Naota wasn't frightened of her driving like he used to be. Instead, he was just glad to get to ride with her again and hear her high-pitched laugh. A few minutes later Haruko stopped abruptly in front of the bakery and then parked with a screech. They hopped off the vespa and Haruko looked over the bakery as they walked towards the front door.  
  
"This place hasn't changed one bit."  
  
"Predictable?"  
  
"Very."  
  
They walked inside and there was a note scribbled by Kamon that said they went to a nearby shelter to look for him. He threw it away as Haruko came into the kitchen. "Did I scare you with the whole tornado thing?" She laughed. Naota grinned and waved. "No way. You're so predictable.." She raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Predictable huh? Well what if I was to suddenly..." She lept onto the kitchen table and began dancing.  
  
"Please, I saw that coming." Naota laughed. She placed her hands on her hips and then hopped down. She leaned close to him and then surveyed his neck.  
  
"How did you get that?"  
  
"Its just a welt..."  
  
"A welt? That's a symbol."  
  
"Huh?" Naota quickly walked out of the kitchen as Haruko walked behind him. He ran into the bathroom and looked at his neck in the mirror. Where the welt had been was now the same symbol of Atomsk. He stared at it for a minute and then touched it softly with his hand. He winced in pain and Haruko saw him shiver.  
  
"Takkun, how did you get that?" She asked softly. He looked down for a moment, thinking. "Uh, how about I tell you later." He said as they walked out of the bathroom. "Kay..oh I almost forgot!" Haruko quickly raced up the stairs and went in his bedroom. Naota followed and when he came in his doorway she was with her Rickenbacker, holding it in awe.   
  
"Takkun! You've taken such good care of it. There's hardly any dust on this at all! Can't believe it..." She grinned. Naota smiled back and then looked away. When he turned to her again he looked concerned.  
  
"Haruko...do..do..you..."  
  
"Hmmm?" She barely looked up since she was still looking over her guitar. He softly placed his hand on her shoulder. "Haruko..do you love me?" He asked as his face blushed. Her eyes widened and she cleared her throat. "Ummmmm..........Like I said, you did a good job of keeping my guitar clean.." She said nervously.  
  
"Haruko, you didn't ans-"  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
"Haruko, answer my-"  
  
"Hey, its really raining outside, look."  
  
"HARUKO! DAMNIT, ANSWER MY QUESTION....PLEASE!" Naota boomed. She seemed to be in a critical thinking moment until she grinned.  
  
"Maaaybe...."  
  
Naota sighed. "Give me a straight answer."  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?!"  
  
"Cause."  
  
"Cause why?"  
  
"BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO DAMN PUSHY!! SHEESH!" Haruko yelled in his ear. Naota shivered and then scooted away from her. "I missed you a lot, but you're still scary, Haruko.."  
  
She grinned. "I do my best, Takkun."  
  
Haruko grabbed her guitar and began to strum it a little. Naota watched her intently until he remembered what he had told Michiko.  
  
"Hey...uh...Haruko?"  
  
"Yeppers?"  
  
"Would you be my...uh.." A silent moment passed as Haruko strummed her guitar and waited for Naota to finish what he was saying. She had been looking at her guitar while he was speaking so when he did not finish, she finally looked at him. He was asleep on the floor. She laughed for a moment.  
  
"That was awkward, Takkun!" She laughed and then poked at him, but he wouldn't wake up. Outside, the rain came down on the house like pellets and the sky thundered. "Takkun?" He shook him lightly on the shoulders and then looked him over. When she looked at his neck she fell backwards. It took her a moment to regain her posture, and she looked again. The Atomsk symbol on his neck was glowing bright red. Haruko shook her head in worry and looked towards the window.  
  
"I guess..I guess he wasn't kidding..." She said aloud to herself. She looked back at Naota who was looking feverish. She put a hand on his forehead and then an idea came to mind. "Someone's trying to..to! Naota!" She threw her head back and her eyes went pure white as her hand held onto his shoulder. Quickly, she was blasted into a world of darkness. She looked around until she found Naota curled up inside of a cage. She quickly flew over to him and grabbed the steel bars and pulled, but they would not budge.  
  
"Takkun! Don't let them take you! Wake up, Takkun! Now!!" She tried to reach through the bars to grab him, but he was too far. She attempted to reach him again until she was blasted back to the regular world. She fell on Naota's floor with a thump and then slowly sat up, rubbing her head. She looked over and saw Naota wide awake with his eyes widened. His forehead dripped of sweat and he seemed to be out of breath. He looked at Haruko and weakly smiled.  
  
"Haruko...I can barely think...my head hurts...." He said in between breaths. Haruko patted him on the back, smiling. "Takkun....what were you going to tell me before?"  
  
"Oh..I was going to..." Before he could finish, Kamon came into the room. He sighed when he saw Naota. "Oh, Naota...I was afraid that the storm had..." He slowly stopped talking when he saw Haruko. She merely grinned, but not a friendly grin. A secret was concealed under it, something that Kamon wouldn't want to find out.  
  
"Haruko-san? H..Hello! Uh...um...."  
  
"Mon-chan, how ya been? Missed ya!" Her yellow eyes glowed. He stepped back and nodded. Then he weakly smiled at Naota and quickly walked out. Even Naota thought his father was acting more weird than usual.  
  
"What was that all about?" He asked, looking at Haruko. She just chuckled and then laid her head on his shoulder. "I missed you.." She said softly. He blushed. "Really?"  
  
She smiled and yawned. "I'm tired...." She snuggled against him and then acted as if that was were she was going to sleep. He blushed more. "You can still sleep in the top bunk."   
  
"Naw..I'm pretty good right here..."  
  
Naota smiled at her and then closed his eyes. This was no dream. Haruko was finally with him...again.  
  
Later on that evening, Naota and Haruko had fallen asleep as the rain still continued to pour down.  
  
"Nao!!! Some girl's at the door for you!" Naota heard his grandfather shout as he mumbled sleepily. Haruko woke up with a yawn and watched Naota walk towards the door and go out. She followed him downstairs until he came to the doorway. Michiko was standing there, looking so upset that she looked like she just wanted to punch him.  
  
"What were you thinking?! How stupid are you?! How could you?! How...how come you're just fine?!"  
  
He scratched his head sleepily. "Dunno..." He mumbled.  
  
Haruko peeked from behind Naota to get a glimspe of the girl and then looked shocked. Michiko looked at Haruko and then looked back at Naota in horror. Haruko gritted her teeth. "Why are you here?! Why the hell are you here!?" She hissed wickedly.  
  
Michiko stepped back quickly as fear made its home on her face. "I..I....N-Noata why is Raharu..." She began to ask, but he looked taken aback.  
  
"How did you know her real name?! Haruko, why are you so, ahhh!" Haruko shoved him out of the way and charged right into Michiko. She hit the ground outside with a thud as the rain poured down her face. Naota got up quickly. "Haruko! What do you think you're doing?!!"  
  
"I thought I got rid of you for good! Don't act like that! I know its you under all that!!" Haruko shouted as she slammed her fist into Michiko. It caused blood to spill out of her nose and Haruko grinned with satisfaction. "Whatever got you back, it doesn't matter now.." She readied another punch, but Naota grabbed her arm. "Haruko! Stop! She's my friend!! Don't hurt her! She hasn't done anything!" Haruko threw him off her easily. She studied him angrily as she stood up.  
  
"How could you call her a friend?!! Takkun! Open your eyes! She's controlling your mind! She's trying to pry inside of you! Breaking all of your memories apart!!"  
  
Just at that moment, Michiko knocked Haruko off of her with a great kick and wiped the blood off her face as she stood up. She looked at Haruko angrily, even though her legs were shaking with fear. Haruko stood up quickly and growled. She swung at Michiko, who barely managed to dodge. She swung again from the right and plowed into Michiko with such force that Michiko hit the ground hard. She was ready to kill her, Naota could tell as she reached for her, but Michiko grabbed Naota's leg and tripped him onto the ground. He fell beside her and suddenly there was a knife held up to his neck. Michiko looked at Haruko with confidense and grinned. "Don't try anything. I know how much you need this earthling." Haruko trembled with anger and stepped closer, but Michiko pressed the knife closer on Naota's neck. He could feel the cold steel close to piercing his skin. He struggled and looked at Michiko.  
  
"Why are you doing this??!!"  
  
"Shut up!" She shouted as she stood up with his and the blade to his neck still. Haruko's yellow eyes started to glow bright and Michiko looked worried.  
  
"You..You can't do that!! I'll kill 'em!! I will!" She said threatenly. Haruko walked closer to her as Michiko nervously stepped back with Naota. Haruko growled and then reached out to grab her, but suddenly Michiko lifted into the air with Naota and flew off into the sky. Haruko imediatly flew after her. Naota's mind couldn't think straight. All at once the tables had turned and now everything was messed up. Why was Michiko acting so strange? Wasn't she just the shy new girl he had just met?   
  
As they flew rapidly through the sky, the rain soaked into Naota, making him as cold as ice. His body shivered as Michiko flew as fast as she could, trying to escape Haruko who was right behind them. Just as she was inching away, Michiko and Naota were knocked out of the sky with an incredible force. They fell with speed into the dirt. Naota's whole body ached and he tried his best not to pass out from the impact. Michiko groaned beside him and stood up warrily. Her face was covered with dirt, as was Naota's. Haruko landed softly next to Naota while Michiko was distracted, but Haruko seemed to be distracted too. She sat down with Naota on the ground.  
  
"Please...just don't make a sound...." She whispered to him. He looked at her in confusment and then turned to see what she was looking at. He gasped at the figure. It was the same man who was in his dream. He landed softly on the ground in front of a horrified Michiko. His body looked like that of a great eagle's and his wings were slowly tucked behind his back. Naota watched with amazment as his body changed into a human's body, but still looked powerful none the less.  
  
Haruko looked speechless.  
  
"Atomsk........." 


End file.
